Prologue

"Nesrin"

I hear Carlo - the Chief Butler - call out and I squint my eyes to adjust to light spraying in from the open door.

"Rise up and get ready. Master Rees wants to see you in his living room"

He leaves and bangs the door shut.

As ordinary as always.

The message awakens my half asleep brain and the usual fear registers.

Why would he want to see me?

I hurry up from my sleeping mat and take a bath as quick as I can.

Don't want to earn myself an hour worth of lecture from him about how useful time is.

I fix up my hair and wear a blue straight-cut gown with a v shaped tigh-high slit and avoid the mirror as I scurry out of my room on the ground floor.

My room's structure was a former warehouse just sprayed off of dirt and scum.

No bed. No air conditioning facility.

Just a rough cemented floor and my trusty sleeping mat.

Termites find their food everyday on the wardrobe wood, eating it to a to their satisfaction and leaving the wardrobe with a layer subtracted from it everyday.

But it's all good, Don Rees gets to decide what happens and doesn't in this part of the world.

All there is to do for me is listen and obey.

Otherwise Nesrin gets the fists.

And maybe it's just the usual 'cutting off my ration ' thing.

Nothing else.

Just have to learn to live on something else asides the meals.

I can use the fruit trees as an alternative.

Hopefully, I don't resort to eating my own flesh.

I glance over the stair railing and out the narrow paned window and something catches my attention.

When did Papa start buying white cars?

It's always the classic dark Fiat 124 Spider Lusso.

His gorgeous beasts.

He has successfully devalued it's worth here in Alignton.

Anyways what do I care?

He could do anything with his money.

None of my business.

I clear my thoughts and turn the door knob.

Don't look up.

Eyes down, ears open.

"You wished to see me father"

The cold temperature, icies up my palms as I lock them up in a nervous ball in front of me.

"Sit down"

He points to the black, for-1 sofa sitting opposite him.

I plod over to the required chair and sit.

I'm not comfortable enough to fully occupy the remaining space, so I remain on the edge.

"You will be leaving this house"

He announces as simply as nothing.

I'm leaving?.

To where?